Intertwined
by Party-King-Thranduil
Summary: Carlisle and Bella both need to get away from the stress of their everyday lives. Getting drunk off of their prospective choice of drink, they end up bumping into each other in the forest. There, they meet an innocent looking creature who's anything but, causing their lives to go spiraling into the paths of hilarious insanity. Bella's POV. B/C
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! I have started another story that I hope you all enjoy! Just a note: anything that seems familiar in this chapter will stick strictly to this chapter. **

**Another thing: I've only included half of the first chapter as I'd like to get some kind of footing as to how this story will be received. If it's positive, I will gladly upload the full chapter. If not, I might just do it anyway. :P**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable.**

_**Edit – June 4: I have uploaded the entire first chapter.**_

_Wednesday, August 4; 5:36 PM_

"I have absolutely had it with that boy! If he wants to go ahead and be a control freak, that's fine! I refuse to be a puppet that he keeps in a little glass case for the rest of my life!"

I had just come back from the meadow with Edward, whom had just asked me to marry him, once again. It's not like I didn't want to marry him, but I just can't help but feel like I would be settling. I know that sounds horrible, and I honestly love the man to death, but I feel so restricted around him. It's so hard to believe that a meek, fragile human, such as myself, is unable to think for themselves, but I _am _capable of making my own decisions!

I shot up into a sitting position on my bed. _'Fine! If Edward wants to stress himself out by worrying about me, then let's give him something to worry about!' _Jumping out of bed, I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, hitting my elbow on the doorframe on the way in. Silently cursing, I gave it a quick rub before I initiated part two of my plan.

"Charlie? Are you home?!" I did a quick check throughout all of the rooms, yelling, "DAD!" at the top of my lungs for good measure.

When no one answered, I ran to the kitchen window, peering out to double check if the cruiser was still in the driveway. I noted that it was empty before I walked to the wooden cabinet in the living room. Staring at its contents through the glass doors, I hesitated.

_'C'mon Bella, don't be a puss. Grab the hard stuff. Drink until you're knocked off your ass, slurring your words, getting-married-in-Vegas-by-a-bad-Elvis-impersonator drunk! Fuck yeah! Let's do this!'_

Throwing the door open, I grabbed the stiffest drink we owned—Jack Daniels. I twisted the cap off and stared at the nozzle, debating whether or not to get a glass when I decided to just damn it all and took a gulp.

I coughed around the sip, feeling the burn as it slid down my throat. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and took another sip. "Fuck Edward and his uptight ass! Tonight is gonna be all about me! YAS!"

_Wednesday, August 4; 7:47 PM_

"Hee, hee, hee...and then, and then," I snickered, "he quacked! Like a duck!"

It was so silent I could practically hear the crickets chirping. Unless, those were actual crickets. I looked around to whom I was talking. "C'mon guys, laugh! It was funny!"

The bunny twitched its nose before hopping away, knocking Chip over in the process. "Oh my god, Ship! Are you okay?" I quickly grabbed for Chip, falling onto my stomach in the process. He felt as cold as a rock. "Noooooo, Ship, y'a can't do this! Hold on, I'll get s'help." Stumbling to my feet, I lost my grip on Chip and dropped him. He bounced off of another rock, gaining his namesake. "Nooooooo, SHIIIIIIIP!" I dropped to my knees and yelled to the sky.

"Well, at least I still have you, bush gardens." I looked to my left at the bush I had stumbled out of about an hour ago. "Hmph. Oh, well." I shrugged my shoulders and got back on my feet to continue stumbling around the forest.

"Doo de doo dee doo, I'm toooooootally loving life right now." I smiled. Then I realized I was lost. "Oh my god, I hate my life soooo much!"

_Bella?_ Huh? _Oh Bella... Come and play with me, Bella... _No, thank you creepy, stalker voice. How do you even know my name?! _But, I have cookies, Bella... _Pssh, cookies? I'm drunk, not high! _I have decisions, Bella... _Not that drunk. _I have hypothetical theories, Bella... _Hmm, I guess I'm drunk enough for philosophy. I shrugged.

So, what do I do, mystical, all-knowing, mind reading being? _Just follow the blue fairies, Bella. _Okay, so maybe I am high.

_Bella, we're over here! _Where? I quickly turned around, trying to catch the son of a gun in the act. All I succeeded in doing was making myself dizzy.

_Right here, silly! _A shining, blue light suddenly appeared in front of my face. Woah, why are there two of you? I brought my hand up to try and catch one of them, only for it to disappear and reappear a few feet away.

Where are you going? Come back here! I followed after it as the shimmering light kept disappearing and reappearing, leading me further and further into the forest. Little fairy, stop running away from me! It seemed to heed my request as it suddenly blinked out of existence before coming back full force toward my face. It shot up at the very last moment, causing me to follow it with my eyes and turn around quickly, resulting in another dizzy spell.

There was a rustling sound. My eyes shot toward the bush in front of me. "Did that bush just rustle at me?" It rustled again. I jumped back, startled. "It did! That bush just rustled at me!" It rustled once more. "Get back, you devil bush! Get back!" It was still.

I hesitantly approached it, afraid of whatever might pop out of it. "If it's you, Mr. Bunny, I swear I will avenge Ship on your innards." A growl was heard and two bright, golden eyes were now peering out at me. "Gah! Definitely _not _Mr. Bunny!" I stumbled back, trying to get away from it.

A dark shadow encompassed the sunlight that was quickly fading behind the trees, and I fell onto my back, a heavy pressure on my stomach. The growling was now louder as it was currently reverberating in my ear as tufts of golden hair fell into my eyes. "Uh, hey..."

The thing on top of me froze, its body now rigid on top of me. Using one finger, I poked them on the back three times. "Excuse me, creepy, growly thing? Please don't eat me. I'm chewy and will probably taste like goat."

_Uhhh, what? _I don't know! Do something magical, blue fairy! Be my fairy godmother or something! _Oh, what do you know? Someone's calling for me. Gotta go! _No, hey! I'm calling for you! Get back here and fix this! Silence. Ugh, fine, I'll do it.

From my vantage point, I tried assessing just who could be on top of me. It seemed to be a man, judging by the firm muscles I felt pressing down on my chest. Mm, what a fine man, indeed. Bella, focus! He was wearing, what appeared to be, a white lab coat, so I'm assuming he just got out of work. He had golden hair that had me physically restraining myself from feeling if it was as soft as it looked.

A scent found its way to my nose, and I drew it in hungrily. He smelled like pine, fresh rain, and a clean breeze. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he was running around in the forest, but it smelled wonderful on him. There was a hint of mint and honey, and as that thought hit me, so did another thought: I know who's on top of me!

Taking a couple more whiffs (just to confirm who it was, I swear!), I wiggled around excitedly. This seemed to break him out of his trance because the growling came back full force. "Wait, wait, it's me! Bella!"

He pushed himself up so that we were now face to face, and I whimpered at the loss of contact. "Bel..la?" There was confusion in his eyes for a moment as they frantically searched my face until recognition set in. "Bella!"

"Jasper!"

He frowned, looking upset that I had forgotten him. I lifted my hand up to his face, cupping his cheek. "Silly, I know it's you, Carlisle!" He smiled brightly, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"What are you doing out here in the woods?"

I looked to my left, then I looked to my right before hooking my finger in a 'come hither' motion. He leant down, and I lifted my head so that I was a hairsbreadth away from his ear. "I'm drunk!" I whisper screamed, a giggle quickly following. "But, don't tell anyone! I think the trees might be listening!"

He let out a loud laugh. "I won't tell anyone if you won't tell anyone!" Using his pointer finger, he lightly tapped me on the nose.

"But, wait, I thought vampires couldn't drink, ergo, you can't get drunk."

"Well, no, but we can drink an excess amount of blood which can cause, essentially, a pretty euphoric high."

I thought on that for a moment. "Wow...we're pretty articulate for people who are supposedly drunk and high." We silently stared at each other for a few seconds before simultaneously bursting into laughter. "Oh, boy,' I said, wiping a tear from my eye, "that was good. Hey! Have you seen a blue fairy flying around anywhere?"

He gave me a skeptical look. "Uh, Bella...how did you know that I was looking for a blue fairy, too?!" At my surprised look, he continued. "That's why I jumped out of the bushes like that! I was trying to catch it!"

"Yeah, about that..." I gestured to our position, and he quickly jumped up, holding out a hand to help me. "Damn. So that bitch eluded you, too, huh?"

_Uhm, excuse me. This 'bitch' is still right here, waiting to escort you two bozos to your destination._

"Oh yeah? Why don't you show yourself, fairy?"

_It's not insulting if it's true. _Suddenly, a bright, blue ball of light appeared before us. _Ready?_

"Yeah, let's go!" I charged ahead, grabbing Carlisle's hand to pull him along with me. I ended up falling backwards into his arms when he decided not to move. I looked back at him, worried. "Carlisle?"

"Wait, Bella, this doesn't feel right." I was about to ask him what was wrong when he shifted our clasped hands so that our fingers were now intertwined. He smiled. "There, much better."

_Jeez, the two of you make me want to barf._

"Shut it, ya fairy!" Carlisle and I simultaneously cried out. Looking at each other, we laughed loudly before continuing to follow the blue bitch.

After walking for a while, the blue fairy disappeared again. "Wait, what?! We've been walking for hours, and this is what we've been led to?" I exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the bushes in front of us.

"Uhm, actually," Carlisle interjected, "it's only been a little over 15 minutes." He paused, and I could feel myself tilting dangerously to one side. "Half of which, I carried yo—oof!" Apparently, this was true as I had now become re-acquainted with the ground.

I clambered back up to my feet as quickly as I could possibly manage, hiccuping as I did so. Raising my fist, I shouted, "You hooligan fairy! You come back here and lead us out of this creepy-ass forest right now!" I moved to stomp my foot and show them that I meant business but tripped over a tree root instead, falling to the ground once more.

Laughing uncontrollably, Carlisle bent down to help, holding a hand out. I grabbed the proffered hand, glaring at him playfully. He pulled me up but fell back down, pulling me with him. Tumbling through the bushes that we were previously staring at, we ended up in a clearing. I landed hard on his chest, and, while, at any other time, I would have relished in this fact, I was more concerned with what we had landed in front of.

"Hey, look! A cot—a cato—a cotter—a house!" Scrambling to my feet, I reached down to reciprocate Carlisle's actions only to fall back on my ass. Giggling, I said, "I think we should make a pact to not help each other anymore."

Smiling, he agreed with, "Deal," quickly retracting the hand that he was, once again, offering before making his way over to the cottage.

"Wha—hey! I didn't even agree to it! Isn't there supposed to be a handshake or a kiss or something?" I slowly made my way over to him, throwing myself onto his back when I got there.

Thankfully managing to keep us both upright this time, he smirked at me, looking over his shoulder. "That's just an excuse to kiss me, isn't it?"

I could practically feel when the cherry red blush started to take over my face, however, I couldn't help the boisterous laugh that escaped me as well. "Haha, perhaps...but now you'll never know!" Nor the words that came out of my mouth, apparently. Turning my attention back to the task at hand, I got off of Carlisle's back to continue making my way to the house. "Come on, let's go see who lives in the creepy cabin in the woods!"

"I don't know; I'm not sure I like the look of it." I turned around expectantly, noticing that he had a dubious look set upon his face. "I mean, that patio furniture certainly does not go with the rest of the décor."

I snort loudly, walking up the stoop and stopping in front of the door. I waited for him to catch up before turning to him. "I think you've been spending way too much time with Alice. Or is it Esme who decorates? Alesme?" I paused. "What are we talking about again?"

He shrugs once before turning to the door, and I quickly followed suit. We stared at the door for a few moments before I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning quickly, I saw that Carlisle had his hand poised to knock. Flinging my own out, I slapped his down, shaking my wrist to relieve the stinging sensation. I gawked at him, wide-eyed. "What do you think you're doing?"

He shot me an exaggerated shocked look, almost as if I had miraculously sprouted another head. "What am _I _doing? What are _you _doing?! _I _was trying to knock!"

I placed my hands on my hips and wagged my head furiously, pausing after the motion made me dizzy. "Don't _knock_ on the door, silly! Ringing the doorbell would be a lot better!"

He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. "Noooooo, knocking on the door would be a lot more polite. What if they were sleeping?"

I looked at him incredulously. "Oh, yeah, then knocking on the door would _definitely_ wake them up as opposed to ringing the doorbell."

"Well, certainly no one's going to know you're even at the door if you don't, at least, do something." We both froze, slowly turning towards the voice of the newcomer. Looking down, there was a wrinkly, old woman standing in the doorframe. "Then again, your shouting is enough to alert anyone—even in slumber."

My mouth dropped oven in preparation for a scream, my heart going a thousand miles a minute. "Aah, aah-" I was suddenly covered by a large hand, effectively cutting off the impending scream.

"We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you. We were just following the blue fairy lights, and they happened to stop in front of your house."

Unbelievingly, I turned my eyes to him. Holding his hand in place, I moved my face away quickly, scoffing. "Yeah, because _that's _the story we're gonna go with when we don't want people to think we're crazy."

He simply shrugged and threw a dazzling smile at the old woman, dropping his hand at what he saw. Curious to see just what shocked him, I turned only to notice the mystefied look upon her face.

"Blue fairy lights, you say?"

I nodded. "You know them?" I asked, unable to keep the hope out of my voice.

Completely ignoring my question, the old woman squinted her eyes and gestured to Carlisle and I. "You've both seen them?" Pssh, rude.

He nodded, giving me a quick glance. "Yes. They actually caused us to bump into each other." The woman hummed, pursing her lips. "What? What is it?"

Ignoring the question once more, the woman opened the door wider, gesturing for us to go inside. "Come, come quickly. There's much to discuss."

We both headed for the door at the same time, effectively bumping into each other, causing us to grab out for the doorframe and each other. "S-sorry," I stuttered, "we're a bit drunk." I slapped my palms over my mouth. "Wait, you weren't supposed to know that!"

She shot me a smile before turning to walk into the cabin. "That's quite alright." As I managed to steady myself and follow her through the door, sensing Carlisle behind me, I could have sworn I heard her mutter, "Even better."

There was suddenly a loud thump and my entire front was overtaken by a stinging sensation. However, I paid no mind to it as I looked around at the trinkets that littered the small front room. "You have a lovely home," I stated, surprised at the slightly muffled tone of my voice.

The old woman laughs, and I squint suspiciously. "It would look even lovelier if you weren't face-down on the floor, dearie." I heard her walking around me and listened as her footsteps gradually faded away.

Looking up, I made eye-contact with Carlisle as he stepped around me as well, laughing at the glare I sent him. I watched as he walked to the couch in the center of the room, sitting down and making himself comfortable. "She is right, though," he called out, "you do have a lovely home."

Once again pushing myself off of the ground, I decided to join Carlisle on the couch. I plopped down next to him, and we waited for the old woman to return. She soon does, carrying a small, wooden box in her hands.

"Yes, thank you. Unfortunately, I don't get to enjoy it as often as I'd like to, as I do my fair share of traveling."

Trying my hand at asking another question, I turn to her. "So, why did the blue fairy lights lead us here?" I paused. "And what's that in your hands?"

The woman ignores me, _again_, instead turning to ask Carlisle a question. I flung my hands up in exasperation, letting them drop hard onto the couch. I might as well be invisible with the way this was going! Deciding that two could play her little game, I crossed my arms and childishly looked in the other direction.

"You are vampiro, yes?" Well, _that_ was unexpected. I swerved my head back to look at them, holding in a giggle at the shocked look on Carlisle's face. The old woman seemed to have no qualms and smiled, continuing. "Stregoni Benefici, I've heard many stories about you."

Ignoring his incoherent stuttering, she turns to me as I let out a loud snort. "You, not so much. BUT! I sense many a great thing for you." Gee, thanks.

Shaking my head, I leaned back into the couch. "It's always the quiet ones, eh?" Vaguely hearing his spluttering, I rolled my eyes at Carlisle's display. "Oh, get over it. She's all magical-y," I twirled my fingers in front of me, "of course she knows what you are."

Blinking twice, he leans back as well. The images around him started to get blurry, and I sighed heavily in content. I could feel my eyelids starting to droop, however, I was shaken awake before I could fall over the brink.

"Whazzat?" I sat up quickly and rubbed my eyes, leaning back once more.

"I asked if you wanted to get married."

Staring into Carlisle's eyes, I felt lethargy wash over me again. At his question, I fell silent. 'Did_ I want to get married? I guess I really don't have a choice; it's the only way Edward would ever turn me. If I'm going to be a vampire, I might as well have someone to keep me company for the rest of eternity, right?'_ The longer I looked into his eyes, the more they reminded me of Edward's. I watched in awe as the honey blonde hair morphed into bronze and the carefree look upon his face turned into one of distraught.

"Bella?" The Carlisle/Edward hybrid suddenly asked. It was certainly odd to hear Carlisle's deep, soothing voice come out of Edward's boyish visage.

I could only stare in shock as I answered. "Uh, sure, I guess."

Edward's pained expression suddenly melted into Carlisle's hopeful gaze. "Good. I'm glad." I drowsily watched as he turned back to the woman once more. "He'll be overjoyed."

As I was pulled into the dark abyss, there was only one thought that ran through my head: _What the _hell _did I just agree to?_

–-

**And there's the rest of Chapter 1!**

**I'd just like to take the time out to thank all the people who have Favorited, Reviewed, or Followed this story so far, so thanks very much to:**

**- Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore**

**- Beertjes**

**- mum2shane**

**Once again, thank you so much, and I hope you enjoyed the revised chapter! Don't forget to R&R! **

**Happy Reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable.**

_**Note: For those of you that may not know, the completed first chapter is now up.**_

_Thursday, August 5; 8:26 AM_

Ring, ring. _Hello?_

Ring, ring. _He-hello?_

Ring, ring. _Helloooooo?_

Ring, ri-

"You have a bad connection!" I shouted, suddenly sitting up and throwing the covers away from my face. Plopping back down, I waited for the ringing in my ears to fade away before vaguely registering the sound of a deep chuckle.

"Well, I would assume that, seeing as you're in the middle of a forest."

Snuggling back into the covers with a casual, "Whatever," I freeze when three things quickly make themselves known:

_1. That was _not _Edward's voice._

_2. The voice that was not Edward's said that we were in a forest._

_3. I was supposedly laying in the middle of a forest with not-Edward...and they had a sexy voice._

As I had not yet opened my eyes and was now afraid to do so, I scrunched my lids tightly, waiting until they hurt before letting them slide open slowly. I managed to catch a glimpse of sunlight reflecting off of golden hair before a wave of nausea settled over me, causing me to close my eyes once more.

"Ugh," I groaned, "your bright-ass hair is giving me a headache!" Bringing a hand up to my rub my temples, I groaned again. "What is going on?"

Feeling, rather than hearing, the bubble of laughter that escaped his lips sent my mind into a tailspin as I frantically tried to detach myself from his side. Of course, being me, I ended up getting tangled in whatever had been draped over me, my foot kicking out, hard, into his shin.

"Ow, shit!" Head spinning, stomach clenching, and toes throbbing, I laid there in defeat, silently plotting to kill whatever it was that had gotten me into this predicament.

My companion let out a loud laugh. "From what I see, you seem to have a hangover, and I've known those to be self-inflicted." His voice spurred something within me, and I sat up quickly, placing my hand on my mouth to stop the impending wave of nausea.

Opening my eyes, I sent a tight-lipped glare his way. "Thank you, Dr. Obvious. You know as well as I do that that's not what I meant." Taking a quick look around, I froze. "Uhm, Carlisle? You weren't joking, huh?"

There was silence, and I could tell he was taking in our surroundings. We had been laying in a small clearing, surrounded by trees that seemed to go on for miles.

He sighed loudly. "No, Bella. I'm afraid not."

Resolutely, I laid back down, basking in the cold summer breeze. This is so weird; I'm waking up in a clearing with Carlisle. Wait. Pause. Rewind. I'm _waking up _in a _clearing _with _Carlisle_. Someone explain this to me! I sat up quickly once more, throwing a shocked look at my...what? I certainly couldn't look at him as my future father-in-law now! Oh my god, Edward! What will he do?! This is going to _kill_ him! Metaphorically, of course, but still, I—

"Bella, will you calm down! Nothing happened!" Carlisle had taken my shoulders and shaken them, interrupting my minor freakout. He snorted. "I would hardly call that minor. You practically gave yourself a heart attack on top of already being hungover."

"What?!" I exclaimed. I may have been going crazy because Carlisle's lips were not moving throughout that entire diagnosis.

"What?" His lips clearly moved that time. Okay, so maybe I _am _going crazy. He gave me a look that said he agreed with me, causing my eyes to widen. But, that would only mean...

Shaking my head of any of those thoughts, I addressed the situation at hand. "What do you mean nothing happened? I'm waking up in the forest with someone who's not Edward, and you're doing the same thing with someone who's not Esme." I flinched at the grimace that elicited. "Sorry."

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it a bit before shrugging on the lab coat that had previously rested on my legs, standing up and offering a hand out to me. "It's fine. Come on, let's get you to the house. I should have some Alka-Seltzer in my bag. Also, I've been told that I make a killer cup of hangover tea."

I snorted. "By whom? 15Th century drunk pioneers?"

He laughed loudly as I grasped his hand only to gasp in shock at the electric current that ran through it, triggering something.

_Flashback_

_Laughing uncontrollably, Carlisle bent down to help, holding a hand out. I grabbed the proffered hand, glaring at him playfully. He pulled me up but fell back down, pulling me with him. Tumbling through the bushes that we were previously staring at, we ended up in a clearing. I landed hard on his chest, and, while, at any other time, I would have relished the fact, I was more concerned with what we had landed in front of...which was what, exactly?_

_Scrambling to my feet, I reached down to reciprocate Carlisle's actions, only to fall back on my ass. Giggling, I said, "I think we should make a pact to not help each other anymore."_

_Smiling, he agreed with, "Deal," retracting the hand that he was, once again, offering before making his way over to...what? What _was_ that in the distance?_

_Flashback ends_

I moaned loudly, placing my head in my hands. "Oh my god, I was so plastered last night! I mean, that explains what the hell I'm doing in the forest, but where did you come from? And why didn't we go back to your house?"

I looked up at him from underneath my eyelashes and noticed that he had a sheepish look about him as he refused to meet my eyes. "I won't tell anyone if you won't tell anyone."

My eyes widened as his practically whispered sentence sent me reeling into another memory.

_Flashback_

_I looked to my left, then I looked to my right before hooking my finger in a 'come hither' motion. He leant down, and I lifted my head so that I was a hairsbreadth away from his ear. "I'm drunk!" I whisper-screamed, a giggle quickly following. "But, don't tell anyone! I think the trees might be listening!"_

_He let out a loud laugh. "I won't tell anyone if you won't tell anyone!" Using his pointer finger, he lightly tapped me on the nose._

_Flashback ends_

I let out a roar of laughter. "No way! You were just as gone as I was! Maybe I should get you drunk more often!"

He sent a playful glare my way. "At least I don't have to suffer the repercussions of my actions the next day."

I stared at him, shocked. "Well, well, getting drunk off your ass _and _playful banter? What will the strait-laced Dr. Cullen surprise us with next? You're not going to tell me that you secretly hate the way you're dressed, are you?"

He shot me a scathing look. "What, exactly, is wrong with the way I dress?"

That sobered me up immediately. "Oh—oh my god, Carlisle, I'm so sorry. I was just—" I was suddenly cut off by a loud bark of laughter, and I turned to him, unbelieving. "You! Oh, I'm gonna _kill _you!"

He simply shrugged, unable to keep the smirk off of his face. A loud clap of thunder reverberated throughout the forest, sending a shocking throb to my temples. I brought a hand up to rub them, groaning. Sensing Carlisle bend down next to me, I looked up at him, the motion sending pain straight to my head.

"I should probably get you home. Do you mind if I carry you?"

I shook my head slightly. "Just as long as you don't drop me, I think we should be good." I steeled myself for the motion of being slung onto his back, one that would certainly turn my stomach in the worst way. Imagine my surprise when I was suddenly lifted into his arms as he carried me like a princess.

Throwing an arm over his neck, more for my sense of balance than his, I sent a questioning glance his way. "I figured you wouldn't appreciate being thrown onto my back in your current state. Also, I'll make sure to walk at a brisk pace instead of running as to not jostle you around so much."

Unable to respond, I did the only thing I was capable of doing at the moment: stare at him. We glided along like this for a few moments before his resolved crumbled. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, I—I was just wondering how you could go from being this snarky, sarcastic vampire to a caring, sweet man." I paused. "Wait, that sounded wrong. Switch those."

He merely smiled at me, and I wasn't sure which side I'd encounter this time. "You know, underneath the caring father figure front I put up, I _do _have a personality. I'm only 23, after all."

"See, it's that right there! How is it that you could _possibly _say something like that and make it sound so...not offensive."

Chuckling, he leaned down and whispered, "Years and years of practice."

And just like that, with a slightly deeper intonation of his voice, he completely changed the meaning of that sentence. Instead of comforting me like it had that day in his office, it sent a not-so-unwelcome shiver through my spine. He suddenly lifted his head, clearing his throat. "Sorry. That was extremely inappropriate."

I quickly looked away from him, shifting in his arms. "No, it's alright. It's good to act your age every now and again. Oh, speaking of, you're only 23?"

Though I wasn't looking at him, I could practically _hear _the raised eyebrow in his voice. "Yes. Why?"

"Well, I was just—uhm, well—gosh, I don't know if this is going to offend you or anything..." I trailed off, playing with the hem of my shirt.

"Just say it. I won't get offended."

"I was just going to say that you always seemed a lot older to me!" I finally blurted out, chancing a glance at him. I furrowed my eyebrows. Why, exactly, did he look like he was holding in a laugh? I don't recall saying anything particularly—oh. _Oh._ Welp, I'm a complete idiot.

"Well, you see, Bella. In a sense, you would be right—"

I placed my hand over his mouth, effectively cutting off that taunt. "You know very well that that's not what I meant. Though I can clearly see your age _now_." He raised his eyebrows in mock innocence, and I merely rolled my eyes. "What I meant was that you always seemed the age that you were pretending to be. Oh, shut it. You just gave off this air that you were so full of wisdom and knowledge, and, I don't know, you always seemed unapproachable. Like, any of my problems would have been too childish for you."

Throughout my speech, I had let my hand fall back down to the hem of my shirt to fiddle with it, and he took this opportunity to speak. "Oh, Bella. I never knew you felt this way. I was always telling you that if you had a problem, you could come to me. I just assumed that you preferred talking to Alice."

I shrugged as best as I could in his arms and sighed. "It's not that I don't _like _talking to Alice. She can just be a bit...much sometimes." He scoffed in what sounded like agreement, causing me to give a little smile. "And it's not as if I can talk to Rosalie. Lord, I'd rather shoot myself in the foot.

"Esme's a different story, but, while I see her as a mother figure, if I can't even talk to my own mother about my problems, well, you see my issue there. The boys will be boys, and if the problems are about Edward, I can't very well go and talk to Edward about it. And...and I've gone completely off-track, haven't I? I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

He pursed his lips, as if in thought, though we both knew he knew exactly what we were talking about before I went on my rant. "I believe we were discussing how much of a surly. Old man I was."

Thankful for the out he provided, I quickly followed suit with a laugh. "Can you honestly blame me? I mean, look at your clothes! They practically scream 'surly, old man'! At least they also scream fashionable."

Letting out a loud chuckle of his own, he stared at me with humorous disbelief. "Again with the clothes! Either you have a personal vendetta against them or, despite what you have us believe, you secretly love clothes as much as Alice does!"

I guffawed loudly, sending him my own look of disbelief. "Absolutely not!" We laughed, and I noticed we had slowed to a walk before a flash of lightening shot through the sky.

"But, really, Bella," he looked down at me, catching my eyes, "I'm still here if you need someone to talk to."

I smiled brightly, mulling over the last couple of hours I spent with him. "You know, Dr. Cullen, I might just take you up on that offer."

**Hi again! I'd just like to thank those who have Reviewed, Followed, or Favorited this story so far. So, a huge thanks to:**

**- Jana0111**

**Thanks so much!**

**Happy reading!**


End file.
